Phase II of ProCord Research Underway

New Mobility Magazine, June 2004 edition
Volume 15, Number 129

Extract from SCI Life column, by Tiffiny Carlson 

Proneuron Biotechnologies and Shepherd Center, who have partnered together for Phase I I of Proneuron's clinical trial, received a $3.2 million donation from The Marcus Foundation to help build a cell processing center to support the second phase of their research. The treatment, which takes healthy white blood cells (macrophages) from the patient’s blood and injects them into the injured area of the spinal cord, has seen positive results. Melissa Holley, who has reportedly regained some feeling and voluntary movement in her Legs, was one of Proneuron’s high-profile participants in Phase I. Justin Richardson, 23, from North Carolina, was another participant in Phase I. After receiving the treatment in Israel, he returned to the States for additional therapy at Craig Hospital in Denver. Richardson, a C7 quad, says he’s seen the most results in his hands. “My hands were extremely weak when I arrived, and today they are almost as strong as they were before my injury.”